Italy’s Berlusconi claims subversives planning a palace coup

September 30th, 2009 Berlusconi calls Obama 'tanned' againROME — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is poking fun at President Barack Obama again. Berlusconi has told a rally in Milan that he was bringing greetings from the United States from "What's his name? Some tanned guy.

September 16th, 2009 LONDON - Gianfranco Fini, Italy's speaker of parliament, is suing a newspaper owned by Silvio Berlusconi's brother for threatening "red light" revelations about him. Il Giornale had suggested that Fini, the 57-year-old speaker of parliament's lower house and a former foreign minister, should be kicked out of the People of Liberty (PdL) party for flirting with the left-wing opposition, reports The Times.

September 10th, 2009 LONDON - After Silvio Berlusconi's recent comments that "all Italians want to be like me," a columnist has said that the premiere casts an impression of being an "angry, defeated and depressed man who is at odds with everyone". The columnist claimed Berlusconi has based his 15-year political career on image-making through his television and advertising empire, but the image is wearing thin - thanks to the controversies, reports The Times.

September 7th, 2009 Berlusconi: Relations with church excellentROME — Silvio Berlusconi says relations between his government and the Catholic Church, which have been strained by a sex scandal involving the Italian premier, remain excellent. Berlusconi said Monday that contacts with the church are kept up "almost daily" by his top aide.

August 7th, 2009 Berlusconi: I have nothing to hideROME — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi made one of his strongest denials yet in a scandal over alleged relationships with young women, insisting on Friday he has nothing to hide and nothing to apologize for. Berlusconi responded to apparent criticism from his daughter, Barbara, who said in an interview with a magazine this week that politicians cannot afford to differentiate between their public and private spheres and should work to improve moral values.

July 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Besides Silvio Berlusconi and his alleged sexcapades, another mysterious element which emerged from the sex tapes was his reference to Putin's bed. The audiotapes of the Italian Prime Minister's alleged encounter with an escort girl at his Rome residence were posted on the Internet.

July 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Silvio Berlusconi spurns a condom - at least that's what new tapes of a hooker's alleged dealings with the Italian PM which hit the internet suggest. The Sun reports, in one of the tapes, Patrizia D'Addario, 42, recoils as a business tycoon linked to Berlusconi's parties tells her: "He will give you a present.

July 17th, 2009 LONDON - An ex Italian MEP has hit out at Silvio Berlusconi, claiming that he was prevented from standing again for the Italian PM's party in the European election last month because he did not fit in with the party's "revolution" of selecting attractive young women. In 2004, Marcello Vernola, 48, was elected to the European Parliament for Forza Italia, now part of the centre-right People of Liberty (Pdl) party.

July 8th, 2009 Obama praises ceremonial leaderROME — President Barack Obama heaped lavish praise on Italy's largely ceremonial president Wednesday, lauding his "integrity" and describing him as a "great leader." It might sound like the standard compliments a visitor might make after being hosted in the splendor of Renaissance-era Quirinal Palace. But in a country whose real leader, Premier Silvio Berlusconi, is under fire from a sex scandal, the words had a special ring.

July 2nd, 2009 Italy's train derailment death toll rises to 19ROME — Italian officials say the death toll from a train explosion in Tuscany has risen to 19, with 25 people injured. Premier Silvio Berlusconi says 11 of the injured are in very serious condition.

June 28th, 2009 LONDON - Silvio Berlusconi has blasted an escort girl's claims that he slept with her. Italy's billionaire prime minister was accused by Patrizia D'Addario, 42, a former actress from Bari in southern Italy, who claimed that the 72-year-old had sex with her on the night of November 4, when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, at Palazzo Grazioli, Berlusconi's Rome residence, reports The Times.

June 25th, 2009 LONDON - Silvio Berlusconi has blasted a call girl who claims she was paid to attend one of his parties, accusing her of being part of a coordinated "mission" to compromise his integrity. Responding to the claims that he slept with escort Patrizia D'Addario at a party at his Rome mansion in November, he said: "Someone gave a very precise and extremely well paid mission to this Miss D'Addario." The Italian Prime Minister gave the response in an interview with magazine, Chi, reports The Telegraph.

June 24th, 2009 Berlusconi seeks to rehabilitate Italy imageROME — Premier Silvio Berlusconi launched a new tourism campaign for Italy on Wednesday in hopes of rehabilitating the country's image which he said had suffered from his recent personal scandals. Berlusconi said Italy's reputation abroad had first been damaged by a garbage crisis in Naples last year that saw tons of trash pile up on city streets.

June 23rd, 2009 Report: Italy's Berlusconi denies he paid womenROME — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has told a gossip magazine he has never paid a woman for sex, as he continues to be dogged by suspicions stemming from his purported fondness for young models and starlets. Berlusconi gave his first direct response to the claims in an interview with Chi magazine to be published Wednesday.

June 4th, 2009 Berlusconi probed over use of gov't planeROME — Prosecutors are investigating Premier Silvio Berlusconi for alleged improper use of a government plane, a charge the Italian leader dismissed Thursday as politically motivated. Prosecutors in Rome opened an investigation after photos surfaced showing friends, entertainers and starlets flown in with a government plane for parties at Berlusconi's vacation villa in Sardinia.